Monk's Japanese Folk Song (1997)

"Japanese koto wonder Miya Masaoka teams up with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille for a set of originals, traditional tunes, and -- as indicated in the title -- Monk numbers. The koto is a harp that has existed in Japan since antiquity. Masaoka is first and foremost a folk musician and an improviser; her jazz leanings inform them both. Her command of the jazz and improvisational idioms here is total. She is unquestionably the bandleader, despite the lofty, well-deserved reputations of her accomplices. The set closes with a tribute piece, the seven-minute "Monk's Sigh in July," a deeply meditative piece reflecting the elongated modal motifs in Monk's mature work with Columbia and even Black Lion when he was reinventing himself once again. It's a bit smarmy in how obvious it is, but it is also an ingenious use of drone against harmony and a deft methodology for creating open improvisational space. This disc is a winner." (Allmusic)